Opinions: ALBUQUERQUE TRIBUNE: Time for drug law reform 
                     
(February 6, 2002 9:19 a.m. EST) - New Mexico's political leaders have a rare
opportunity in the final two weeks of this legislative session to make a progressive
change in the state's drug laws and in many of its citizens' lives.

They should make the best of this chance to adopt state drug policy reforms that
promise to be more humane, practical, efficient and effective.

That is not too much to expect. The people of this state are entitled to intelligent drug
laws. The Democrat-dominated Legislature should pass all six pending reform bills that
Republican Gov. Gary Johnson has promised to sign. This is not a partisan battle. Neither
should it be a clash between Santa Fe and Washington, D.C.

In spite of efforts to characterize the reforms as dangerous and at odds with the national
"war on drugs," the reforms are reasonable and overdue. They moderate harsh drug
policies which the evidence shows have been ineffective, unnecessarily punitive,
discriminatory and costly to the state, the nation and people.

While the local perception is that New Mexico is radically leading the way in national drug
reform - perhaps because of the governor's efforts to jump-start a broad national debate
on this issue - the reality is that lawmakers are considering only careful reforms already
endorsed by several states.

Taking these first steps could provide a benchmark for deeper reforms advocated by
Johnson and others that could be examined more closely and debated at length.

It is time for simple drug law reform in New Mexico - with or without Washington's
cooperation or acknowledgement that part of the drug problem is the drug war.

Consider, for example, the inconsistency of our expensive effort to combat marijuana
use, which is illegal but claims few, if any, lives, while legal tobacco, by the government's
own data, kills more than 400,000 Americans every year. It's OK, it seems, for farmers
to raise and profit from deadly, addictive tobacco, while ailing New Mexicans, we are
told, must be denied prescribed marijuana that could relieve their pain or nausea.

Among the six bills being considered in the Roundhouse, the one drawing the most fire is
the proposal to legalize the medical use of marijuana, specifically for patients suffering
the debilitating effects of cancer or AIDS.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson intimidated legislators with his
letter last week opposing the bill as being at odds with and undermining federal law. But
an analysis by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office suggests state regulation of
medical marijuana use within its own borders could put the state in a good position to
defend against a federal challenge.

There is increasing, independent scientific evidence that marijuana has useful medicinal
properties, but Congress and the federal courts prefer to remain blind to this. State
lawmakers should take the attorney general's lead, modify the bill and finally make
marijuana legally available to New Mexicans in need of it medically. It's the humane and
right thing to do. Neither patients nor their doctors nor state medical officials should have
to fear prosecution for making what is as much a health care decision as is providing
morphine to a wounded soldier.

Drug case overload in the judicial and corrections systems is one of the strongest
arguments for adopting other measures. Initial reports from other states, where similar
drug reforms have been in place for several years, suggest they will save New Mexicans
money and grief and provide more sensible and effective corrective avenues. At the
very top is providing treatment, instead of mandatory jail time, for non-violent
drug-possession offenses.

The other four bills would:

- Allow judicial discretion in sentencing, instead of mandatory prison time.

- Encourage civil penalties for basic marijuana possession.

- Provide protection from civil-asset forfeiture for innocent property owners.

- Allow offenders who have completed their drug sentences to apply for federal benefits
that could provide economic stability and reduce the chances for repeat offenses.

Finally, these six reforms should be adopted, because they start a shift in the drug-policy
paradigm in New Mexico. They focus the war on drugs on the drugs themselves, instead
of making war on people.

New Mexico has tried the tough approach for decades, and it seems only to have widened the conflict. It's time to try the higher road of compassionate drug laws.